Open Mike: To Your Health! (6-Week Update)

["Open Mike" is the anything goes, often off-topic Editorial page of TOP. It appears on Wednesdays.]

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Happy May Day!

Regular readers remember that I wrote a post last March about WFPB (whole food plant based) eating. At the time, several readers challenged me to come clean about how it had really been working for me personally. I admitted that I was still cheating quite a bit, like eating quite a bit of candy (a sweet tooth being my lifelong weakness) and taking other liberties. So I asked for a little time to get strict with myself before reporting back.

That was six weeks ago today.

Since then, I've lost 19 pounds. There have been other, even better results, which I'll get to in a minute.

The most interesting thing about the weight loss, however, is this: I'm not dieting. At least not "dieting" in the familiar, conventional sense of a weight-loss diet, where you set up a difficult calorie-restricting regimen for yourself and then struggle to adhere to it by constantly applying willpower. Apart from my sugar problem—I had sugar cravings for about the first week and a half, and one further problem with sugar which I'll describe below—I haven't been depriving myself of food at all. Nor have I been applying willpower. I haven't had to, because I'm not limiting how much I eat. Day to day, I'm well satiated, well satisfied, and perfectly comfortable. I eat three times daily (well, sometimes two, but only because I don't want more) and I eat all I want. I don't have to be hungry, so I haven't been. If I want more, I eat more. There's been no reason to exercise willpower, no reason to struggle.

The other results:

• I feel better physically. Not just by a little—by quite a lot. For a long time I've suffered from bodily aches and pains that I had assumed were the result of aging. They've virtually vanished. Everything used to hurt, at a low level; now, nothing does. It's a curious feeling almost of lightness, or of restored youth. Very nice.
• My balance is noticeably better. (Odd, maybe, but I'm just reporting.)
• I have more energy. I seem to have shed that intermittently sluggish, lethargic, draggy feeling that I used to consider normal. For instance, on Sunday I did an hour of yardwork and then, instead of retreating indoors to collapse in front of the computer, I worked another hour and a half—and felt fine afterward. I notice this "restored energy" all the time, even just walking around the house. And I've been having an easier time getting things done—that is, I'm noticeably less "lazy."
• I'm sleeping better. For more than two years I had been beset with "early morning awakenings"—waking up at four, five, or six in the morning and not being able to get back to sleep. This used to happen at least five nights out of six and sometimes, if I was depressed, I'd go three weeks or a month without sleeping through the night once. That's getting better. Now I'm sleeping through the night at least half the time, maybe more than that. I've also "slept in late" like a teenager three or four times over these six weeks, and it has been many years—ten, maybe? Maybe 15—since I was able to do that.

Here's an introduction to WFPB, if you're interested. And here again is Forks Over Knives, which anyone who's curious should watch first. The latter is also available on Netflix, YouTube Movies, and as a DVD. (And elsewhere.)

Details
You can stop reading now if you want.  :-)  But for the sake of full disclosure, here are a few of the gory details of my six-week experiment:

• So have I been 100% WFPB for all six weeks? Not quite. I cheated twice. I went out for a sushi dinner about two weeks ago, where I ate four pieces of salmon sushi, two of tuna, and two of yellowtail. (On strict WFPB you eat no animal products and use no oil. I've also cut out sugar, but that's just me. Anyway, raw fish is verboten.) Then, last Monday, out with my pool league for lunch, I had pancakes with local real maple syrup. That's vegan but not WFPB. Bad Mike.
• I experienced only one "falling off the wagon" type problem in the six weeks. I had been eating a few Medjool dates for dessert every night—they're much better for you than candy, because they're full of fiber and they're a natural plant food, and they're delicious. But they're loaded with sugar. I ate three per day for several weeks and then fell off the wagon with a thud, pigging out on dates for three or four nights in a row just like I used to pig out on candy. So I put the kibosh on those delicious little critters. No more dates for the sugar junkie.
• Also, at first, I was still using oil for sautéeing and to coat my baked potatoes. I've cut that out too.
• I've eaten out for dinner six times, but the other five (other than sushi night) were all vegan meals. Four at a Thai restaurant, one at an Indian restaurant.
• I supplement only with B-12 and D3.
• I have not been exercising.

Conclusion
I'll report back again after another six weeks or so and let you know how it's going.

But so far so good.

Prior to these last six weeks, I had probably been eating maybe 70% or 80% WFPB. Going the whole way has made much more difference than I thought it would. Pam Popper, in her new book Food Over Medicine with Glen Merzer, says that a WFPB diet is like a combination lock. Say you have to spin four tumblers and set a sequence of four numbers in order to open the lock. If you get three numbers correct and miss the fourth, you don't get 75% of the desired result—you get none. The lock won't open. She advocates going whole-hog on WFPB* if only so you can properly appraise the potential results, experiencing the proof for yourself. Because, she says, that's what will convince you—your own results. Half measures aren't good enough, because they won't make an obvious enough difference to convince you.

On the basis of my experience over the past six weeks, I'm with her.

Mike

*Note that Pam, in her book, also says you can eat meat three times a week, as long as it's the best quality meat and you're strict about portion size, and as long as you're fully on WFPB otherwise. But no dairy.

P.S. Best video I watched this week: Neal Barnard's "Chocolate, Cheese, Meat and Sugar—Physically Addictive." The part about doping babies in the very beginning is fascinating. One of the commenters, Michelle Pradhan, wrote, "This was easy to watch, easy to understand and entertaining. The 40 minutes flew by. This guy is awesome." Seconded. Recommended.

And if you're curious as to why it's so difficult to eat a diet that's good for us, psychologist Doug Lisle explains the pleasure trap. Turns out the trick has a lot to do with making it through the first six weeks, making Doug's video relevant to today's post.

Original contents copyright 2019 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

Leica's best camera?

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Eric Perlberg: "I’ve been on a plant-only diet for more than 20 years and don’t see any evidence of poor nutrition, to those who worry about that issue. The other two major improvements in my life are an hour/day each of vigorous daily exercise and Vipassana meditation. I can get preachy on these subjects but won’t. It’s great when you adopt a a regime which is intrinsically right for you."

Aravind: "Very good news, Mike! Whatever suits you, persist with that, and enjoy!! As the saying in Ayurveda (the ancient, traditional system of medicine in India) goes, 'Without good food, medicine is of no use; with good food, there is no need of medicine.'"

kirk tuck: "All things in moderation. I swim with Rip Esselstyn almost every day. He and I have been on the same masters swim team for nearly 20 years. We work really hard in the water. Many yards, much exertion for an hour and a half six days a week. Added to that we both run regularly and Rip still bikes (always a triathlete). Many of us have tried the Engine 2 diet but some find it to be absolutely unsustainable over the long term. Now I've gone back to what I call the 'Belinda' diet (put into place years ago by my spouse, Belinda). We eat mostly veggies + fish but we are not afraid of the occasional hamburger, etc. We do strictly limit our sugar intake. I watch Rip and am thoroughly convinced that it's the exercise that keeps him healthy, not necessarily more kale. But he was a super athlete back when he was a nationally ranked swimmer at UT Austin. He is a classic 'outlier.' I've been on the five or six day per week solid exercise program for...well, since I was six. I'll let my numbers tell the story. I'm wearing the same 32" waist size pants I did in college. I weigh 160 pounds (up four from college forty years ago) and my total cholesterol is 148. I am currently 63.5 years old. I have zero aches or pains. None. The longer I live the more I believe in the idea of 'all things in moderation' except for exercise. Get as much of that as you can."

Mike replies: I used to be impressed that I knew you. Now I'm impressed that you know Rip.

Comments

[richardplondon]

Yardwork is "exercising", no?

[Kenneth Tanaka]

Clearly, dietary tinkering has been an enjoyable hobby of yours for a long time. If it gives you joy and if you feel it keeps you in better health more power to you. (But you do seem to report illness with some frequency, don’t you?)

Personally, my vote is for exercise. Regular, vigorous or moderate, exercise is an absolutely essential element for health maintenance. You don’t have to be training for a triathlon or spend thousands on gym memberships or equipment. Unless you’re actively addressing an exercise regimen discussing just a diet is somewhat unbalanced. That is, there ain’t no real zoom lens through your mouth. Ya gotta use dem feet!

[My dietary tinkering has been a six-year project, essentially a series of experiments on myself. I'd call it "demystification" rather than "tinkering," though. The project was to sort out all the competing claims and arrive at some sense of personal clarity. After a great deal of work, that has happened now. I've been convinced for a year or two that WFPB is the healthiest way for human beings to eat. Our omnivorous proclivities are just survival adaptations; as I often say, we're so adept at surviving under adverse conditions that we could potentially even survive on a diet of McDonalds food. :-)

Since then, I've largely been concerned with a.) learning more about WFPB (there are many different aspects) and b.) understanding all the various approaches *within* WFPB (because of course there are many). This has become more akin to a passion than a hobby. But it's all very energizing, positive, and fun. --Mike]

[Dan Doviddio]

What I am noticing about these focused diets such as the WFPB, KETO and Paleo is that eliminating certain foods such as carbs or meat seems to work best. But a combination 'all inclusive' diet causes issues. I am on the Fast Track Diet that is similar to KETO, but focuses on cutting highly ferment-able foods that cause issues with digestion. I lost weight too and feel much better as a whole.

[s.wolters]

Great that you feel happier and healthier Mike. But this only spans a short period with one test person. Haven’t eaten any meat? What about those 19 pounds of Mike Johnston then?

[Omer]

From what I've read, plant iron (non-heme) is not as easily absorbed as animal (heme) iron. Also, the amount of iron in plant food is lower than in meat. To complicate things, drinking tea or coffee after a plant based meal will further inhibit the absorption of non-heme iron.

Iron supplements can be taken but have their own drawbacks, one being constipation.

My own effort at a WFPB diet ended when a blood test revealed way too low iron levels. But being a coffee drinker didn't help and I was not prepared to quit the java habit.

Monitor your iron levels (blood tests) if you continue with WFPB.

[I'm no expert. This is from the site that's my go-to for untangling conflicting scientific evidence in the literature:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq84RZVR_C0

You should do whatever you feel you need to, but don't forget that wherever there's an industry that is advocating for the consumption of its products, there are usually biases. And the myth that you're in some kind of peril if you don't get your protein and iron from steaks is one of the livestock industry's oldest and most entrenched go-tos. --Mike]

[c.d.embrey]

According to a new study from the National Institutes of Health Opens a New Window. , a diet that reduces carbohydrates in favor of fat – including the saturated fat in meat and butter – improves nearly every health measurement, ... The medical establishment got it wrong, ...The belief system didn't pan out. https://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/why-experts-now-think-you-should-eat-more-fat-20141020

My Immunologist (infection problem) has me on a high protein/fat low-carb diet, and I'm losing weight—health is better all around. No colds and no flu this year. All of my Doctors are happy—what's not to like.

BTW my breakfast this morning consisted of fried Spam, peanut-butter on toast and Matcha tea (without sugar).

[High fat, low carb diets come and go. One will be popular for a while, then it will fade, then another with come into vogue, then it will fade, and so on. Right now they're called "keto" diets, and their purpose is to make it possible for people to happily(?) eat their friend spam and not feel guilty. Fine by me. I'm only telling you what I do, not what you should do. I'm not in charge of you. The reason behind all of the low-carb diets is that people want to eat things like steak and eggs, and they need handy rationalizations for their behavior. That need will never go away. --Mike]

[Steve Rosenblum]

I've been on a similar diet for 6 weeks and estimate my compliance at 85%. I occasionally eat a piece of salmon, but otherwise whole time plant based. My main downfall is eating too many nuts when I feel like a snack. Very calorie dense. I do exercise moderately 3-4 times week because of my medical issues. I'm down 10 pounds. I think it's going well so far.

[John London]

the low carb, high fat '' diet'' is becoming extremely important for type 2 diabetics like me. Every day LCHF is proving very beneficial.

[c.d.embrey]

Mike said: Right now they're called "keto" diets, and their purpose is to make it possible for people to happily(?) eat their friend spam and not feel guilty.

The NIH doesn't call them "keto" diets, and neither does my MD. They call it a healthy diet.

I mainly eat fish, chicken, pork, cheese, nuts and dairy for protein and fat. Egg plant, squash, peas, onions, carrots and potatoes for carbs. I eat berries for anti-oxidants.

Some food is baked, some is grilled and some fried.

From my POV it's a traditional well-balanced diet, like my parents and grandparents ate—not some faddish diet as you characterize it.

[beuler]

I am left wondering how much of the improvement is from the elimination of sugar.

[Terry Burnes]

A few years ago I lost 15-20 pounds fairly easily on a low/no carb higher fat/protein diet but then fell off the wagon on a long group bicycle tour where the others stopped at every bakery we passed. I eventually gave in and joined in the carbo loading and haven't been motivated to stop enjoying more carbs than I should since.

I felt much better with my weight down, as do Mike and others here. Might it be that the key is getting weight down and keeping it there in whatever reasonable way works for you? I'm a bit wary of extremes, so while I think WFPB largely makes sense I also don't see a problem with combining a bit of lean meat in that diet along with a few wholesome carbs.

What I think most of the current diets agree on is avoidance of processed food, especially those with added sugar. I found the easiest transition to better eating to be first cutting out the obvious crap, sugary drinks, chips, fries, processed food snacks and the like, basically whatever is advertised heavily to get us to eat more of it, then moving on from there to restructure meals in a healthier direction.

I don't think a steak now and then is going to kill you, or at least that much sooner than other things might, but it doesn't have to be a two pound t-bone dripping with fat accompanied by a pile of fries followed by a big slice of cheesecake. All things in moderation still works pretty well, in food as in much of the rest of life. We all know an unhealthy meal when we see it. The key is not eating it.

[Bandbox]

TON: The Online Naturopath.

[JOHN GILLOOLY]

I'm very happy that you have been able to stay strict enough to actually measure the impact on yourself. In the end, that is the only study that matters. I read around this area but have never been able to really get myself to be strict - about anything really! In this WFPB case, probably because I haven't HAD to.

But I, like you, truly believe that this is the healthiest way to eat. I don't think WFPB is a diet or a fad or a system. It is simply a lifestyle choice. I am partial to the wiggle room of Forks Over Knives where they didn't necessarily call for the elimination of animal protein, but a serious re-proportioning. And then explaining the benefits of "wild" animal protein vs. more industrialized methods.

Regarding the theory of Glen Merzer regarding the need for 100%. My opinion on this may be a rationalization, but here goes. Extreme circumstances require extreme solutions. An alcoholic can not consume in moderation. We know that. If a person gets to the point where my father is with Type 2 diabetes, and wants to try and control it with diet, he will need to be 100% compliant. I consider myself one of these 75% people. I would hope that being aware and eating well, incredibly well relative to the masses, will help me to avoid some of those extreme circumstances. But I feel as though I am saving some ammunition should I need it - the remaining 25% adherence.

My 71 year old father is currently at an inflection point with Type 2 diabetes. This is a disease that many believe can be controlled or eliminated with a strict WFPB diet. He has been much better than most for about ten years, but not good enough. He is currently going all-in on proper nutrition to see how his body will react. We will see.

Regarding the comment about exercise. I do believe that exercise is important. It has many benefits across your physical, mental and emotional self. But I do believe that your diet is even more important. and like another commenter said, you are getting exercise - gardening, walking, etc. It's mostly diet.

I look forward to your next update. Good luck!

[Barry Braunstein]

About 25 years ago my then girlfriend, now wife, called me jelly belly. I had gained about 30lbs thru poor diet and no exercise. I changed my diet, eating healthier, and exercising 5 days a week. Lost over 30 lbs, am now below my high school weight, and have less overall health issues. Fruits, veggies, yogurt, fish, and chicken - watch the carbs and fats. No chips, French fries, etc. Whatever works for you - congrats, keep going, and remember this is a long term commitment

[John Krumm]

I think this post caused more controversy than your Bernie one. I lasted for a good while on something like your diet. The hardest thing was my wife was less interested, so we cooked a lot of separate meals. She responded more to a low carb diet, and if she ate as much fiber as I did she got bad cramps. The whole thing was a little depressing. Now we are back to whole foods , unprocessed, organic whatever.

[Bob Johnston]

I was talking with the oldest member of our photo society last night. He doesn't eat vegetables at all and never has. He does however eat potatoes and fruit I believe. He was a keen cyclist. He can't do that any more but is still sharp and reasonably fit. His age - 93.

[Peter Baglole]

Losing weight is simple, just eat less.

[marko]

I have been doing extensive experimentation over the last 10 years and have been vegetarian, vegan, classic keto and now modified low carb/keto. The research was to try to cope with an unusual genetic thing that I have. When under a normal American diet, my blood lipids are dangerously high, and after 20 years on statins which reaped marginal results, I decided to really see what might work to get me off the drugs. There is no simple answers and I believe that different things work for different people, but in general here is what has worked for me. I now do modified keto, which means that I don’t get a lot of saturated fat. I still eat lean meat in smallish portions, chicken, oily fish etc, but eat a lot of avocados and oil, olive oil, nuts and nut butters etc. On the nuts, you have to lean strongly to walnuts, pecans pistachios and macadamias and stay away from the legume based nuts, as they are just harder to digest. I get carbs only from vegetables and nuts, and have really reduced any simple carbs. I also have become comfortable with intermittent fasting, and limit my food intake to the hours between 11 am and 7 pm. I am recently now trying to fast until dinner at least 2 days per week. There is ample scientific evidence at this time that the only way to reliable way to enhance longevity is to limit caloric intake. I am not trying to live to be 100, but want to try to improve the quality of life for the time I have left. This latest strategy is working well. My body weight seems to automatically seek to be in the area of 172 which is where I feel best. I also have, over the past 4 years, increased my activity and now cycle about 4-5 hours per week and this is very vigorous mountain and road biking, average heart rate in the 130s. The greatest result of this is that I now have beaten my metabolic syndrome, have reduced my insulin resistance and am now pretty fairly fat adapted, which I think is the result of the modified keto diet. Since I burn fat, I never am at risk to bonk when working out hard, it just seems like I have endless energy. Now if I do something stupid like have birthday cake, I can feel my body kick in to carb metabolism, and I just fast the next day to purge the carbs and go right back to burning fat. Its hard, it takes discipline, but I am much the better for it and can still cycle pretty aggressively. So have your blood tested, see what the problems are and then figure out what combination of food and timing optimizes your results

[Jernej]

If there's one thing easily learned from nutritional research is that nobody really knows anything. This particular diet apparently works for you, some people only eat meat, some only eat uncooked vegetables, some only eat X... and they all claim amazing benefits etc. but there is no single best for everyone. When I eat vegetables and fruits of nearly all varieties in any sizeable quantity it turns me into a farting mess at best, you can fill in the worst yourself. What's gluten intolerance equivalent for fruit/veg? The problem is, I really like a lot of fruit and vegetables, I just can't eat more than a little bit without feeling the consequences. I could devour buckets of raspberries for example. Contrary to climate/world/health saving trends, my body apparently responds well to grains, dairy and meat, but not nuts, legumes, berries etc.

So when your feel like posting about your diet again in a few weeks, perhaps consider reporting on what works for you and avoid claims such as: "WFPB is the healthiest way for human beings to eat." None of the diets deserve that title.

[Duncan]

Diets are like religion. The one you're on is the one true diet. Everyone else has been taken in by some faddy cult.